LongLevens Levelled by a re-jigged Stroud outfit

Stroud travelled to Longlevens with a depleted squad – 5 starters away in Wales with Gloucester Rugby Academy, and a few suffering the after effects of Bill’s birthday party. Jedd had managed to lose the YMCA builders outfit and find his gum shield but Lucas had flown the nest – quite literally – in his red parrot fancy dress outfit. Perhaps he had jumped ship and was going to turn out for Longlevens? Photo evidence indicated that was the case.....

The coaches had to get creative with a lack of backs. Plan A was agreed, and by the time the game was finished and the injuries mounted the musical chairs had settled down for line-up “Z” !

Forwards: Liam, Orgy, Carlos, Darion, Mr T, Euan, Stoner, Jake
Backs: Hilly, Ryan, Alex, Arthur, James, Billy, Flash
Subs: Bernie, Jedd, Callum, Harry, Perys

Stroud kicked off and Levens immediately won a penalty that was kicked into the Stroud half. The subsequent lineout was knocked on so Stroud restarted with a scrum that they duly won. The backs with their new lineup improvised immediately with Ryan doing a small kickover the up rushing defence. Levens recovered the ball but quick Stroud pressure forced a turnover on halfway. The ball came out quickly and Ryan cut up inside and beat a few tacklers, sidestepped a tackle from a red parrot called Lucas and ran in a try from halfway. Captain Jake was on kicking duty and added the extras for a 7-0 lead.

Jake ran back the kickoff but good Levens work at the breakdown won a turnover and they quickly attacked back. New centre combo Alex and Arthur were quick into the tackles to snuff out the attacking threat. Levens kept the ball alive well though and with their big forwards and some missed tackles got close to the Stroud line but a forward pass stopped them from crossing the whitewash. A vocal complaint from Levens turned a Stroud scrum into a penalty that was kicked to their 22. Darion stepped into Lauries big shoes and cleanly won the lineout. Arthur took the attack on with a good run. Then Mr T bashed his way into the Levens half. Carlo was the next big body to punish the Levens tacklers with another barnstorming run. Ryan gruber kicked left and Billy did well to pick it up and carry on the attack. He was stopped by a good cover tackle but Stoner and Euan secured the breakdown ball. An alert Hilly sniped down the blindside and drew the winger and released the perfect pass to Arthur who finished off the attack with a run to the try line. Jake added the extras and Stroud were 14-0 up and settling into their new positions,

Liam superbly caught the low kickoff but more quick Levens tackling forced another turnover. Stoner was quick into the tackle to slow up the Levens attack. Alex tackled the big centre and Arthur was quickly over the ball to win a penalty turnover. The kick to touch stayed in but Stroud were quick to react and hack the ball into the Levens 22 and were unlucky to knock-on as they attempted to pick up the greasy ball. Levens won their own scrum and kicked deep. Flash recovered it well and ran into contact. James put in an immense clearout to secure the ball. Jake took on the attack and a lovely offload to Stoner kept the move alive. Stoner crashed into the Levens 22 and was dragged down. The attack moved down the right wing but a loose pass went into touch as the try line beckoned.

Levens won their lineout but the ball went loose so Stroud had an attacking scrum restart on the Levens 5. Another clean hook from Orgy won Stroud the ball and the ball quickly came out to Billy but he was kept out. Levens won a penalty and kicked to halfway. They won their lineout and improvised with a hack down the line putting the ball in behind the Stroud defenders. A try looked on but Billy and Darion between them kept the winger at bay and hacked the ball into dead ball area. Levens had a scrum restart on the Stroud 5 and won it and looked to be in position to score as they pounded the Stroud try line but a great tackle from Jake dislodged the ball as the player crossed the line. Ryan went off injured and another re-jig with Alex moving into #10. Stroud won their scrum restart and Billy ran it out from dead ball area. A good pass to Flash set the speedy full back up the right wing. He was eventually tackled on halfway but good support from Mr T and Stoner won the ruck. The ball came out to Alex and Arthur and they made good yardage but another penalty gave Levens a chance to escape the pressure.

The next few minutes of the game both teams traded turnovers, scrums and lineouts with no team gaining any significant territorial advantage. Stroud highlights were Harry, Perys and Euan blockbuster tackles and Orgy diving on a loose ball (twice) with no regard for his personal safety – a man-of-the-match effort he was good enough to remind me (constantly….)

Eventually the tide turned and as the Stroud injuries started to kick in and constant subs took their toll Levens found themselves deep in the Stroud half putting pressure on the Stroud line. Eventually a sequence of penalties and scrums were rewarded with a Levens try in the corner. There was a hint of knock-on in the final move but Levens deserved a try for their hard work. A great conversion from the corner closed the score to 14-7.

Levens secured the kickoff and immediately kicked it back long. Flash recovered it well and ran it back. Then a great interchange of passes between Jake and Darion got Stroud upto halfway. Jake was wearing the captains armband well and leading from the front. With the constant shifting of positions he found himself at #10 at throw a long pass that Will would be proud of. Arthur shot up the left wing and set Perys off on a strong run. Mr T crashed the ball back up the inside and forced a penalty in front of the posts. An eager Hilly looked to set the backs away with a tap penalty but an evil gust of wind took the ball off his foot and a knock-on occurred and the ref blew for the half.

Half Time: Longlevens 7 – 14 Stroud

More subs were taken to just add some more confusion to the Stroud players faces and game plan. Delia and Jenks saw the confused faces and immediately went through concussion protocols – all players passed – which bodes well for their GCSE mock exams as well…..

Levens kicked off deep and Darion ran it back well to half way. The ball was turned over and panic set into the Levens backs as Harry went roaming and put in some great tackles back-to-back. A Stroud turnover was won but couldn’t be capatilised on. Stroud were doing well in the lineout with Euan now on catching duty. Hilly was under constant pressure though and did well to either get the ball out quickly to the backs, or improvise and take the ball back into the “safety” of the big bodies! Jedd was putting in some pounding runs – as pounding as his Dad’s hangover. Bloody Mary was sorting out Bill’s hangover. A bloody nose was what Jedd was inflicting on the unlucky Levens tacklers! Bernie was also in on the action and contributing with tackles and runs.

Stroud had a scrum in the Levens 22 and another strong surge secured good ball. Ryan attacked right and a great attacking line from Arthur was rewarded with a perfect pass and an untouched Arthur scoring under the posts. “Dave Who” came the shout from the sidelines……. Another conversion from Jake made it 3-3 and the shout “Will Who” followed swiftly after. 21-7 was now the score.

Another long kickoff and another Darion run back. This time Stroud couldn’t take advantage and Levens won a turnover and attacked back. Callum and Stoner put in good tackles to slow down the red shirted surge but more pressure eventually paid off and Levens won a scrum, attacked left and scored in the corner. This time the kick was missed leaving the score at 21-12.

Strouds kickoff bounced into touch so Levens had a lineout that they tapped back. The ball went loose and Liam showing his Rodboro footy skills hacked it on. James got in on the action and pressured the Levens player. Liam hacked it on again into the try area but a valiant dive came up just short as Levens #10 got their first. Levens then errored on the 22 drop out and went offside so Stroud had a tap penalty. They quickly attacked right and a perfect pass found Billy who sped into the corner to score but the ref judged it a forward pass so Levens had a scrum on their own 22. Stout tackling from Harry and Perys snuffed out Levens moves.

The next 5 minutes was both teams cancelling each other out. Carlo and Jake running well for Stroud with the inevitable big tackles from Stoner and Harry to neutralise the Levens runners. Alex cut through a gap and was tackled heavily to the ground by a big Levens forward and earnt a penalty for a tip tackle, but also earnt a trip to the sideline for Delia to attend to his ribs and arm and give him a chance to try and hold a pen for his exams this week. The penalty kick to touch was kept in play by the wind so another good attacking opportunity was wasted. Carlo and Bernie put in some great tackles, the forwards combined well to win mauls and scrum restarts. But it was all to no avail as no line breaks were made and the game petered out in the middle of the pitch. An uneventful end to the game with the highlight being Jake and the Levens captain having a good genuinely friendly chat as they bounced off each other during a frenetic breakdown battle. Jake won that – like most of the battles he had. They knew each other from Hartpury trials so it was genuine rugby rivalry, but admiration deep down…. That’s the spirit rugby should be played in.

Full Time: Longlevens 12 – 21 Stroud

Tunnels were formed and the good natured spirit of the game carried on as the players exchanged jokes and slaps as they clapped each other off the pitch.

Thanks to Longlevens for providing the ref who gave clear decisions and chatted to the kids well so they knew what was happening - even if they didn't agree it became clear for both sides that once the ref had made his decision it was final and no amount of gentle persuasion would change his mind.

Team debrief was held and all players were congratulated for putting in a good performance and winning against a battling Longlevens team. Missing a number of starters hadn’t phased them and everyone had stepped up and played extra minutes in different positions and trusted their skills to adapt to their new positions.

By the end of the game we’d had 3 different #10s and 5 different #12s depending on the injury situation or place on pitch and kicking options needed. So Dave and Will weren’t missed, we just used a combination of 8 players to help replace them ;-)

Next week its new team Evesham away. They have beaten teams like Malvern who we played on the Forest tour in March 2018 so should be a good battle.